We Return to Hardin Ridge.....

Art and I knew we wanted to return to Hardin Ridge just to walk, visit the animals, see snow on the trees for some great pictures.  Well.....we just couldn't wait for the snow. As a matter of fact the high today was 62 in Southern Ind.  With Christmas coming up and our plans to go to Fl in January we decided to go today.

"Hello, welcome back to Hardin Ridge."  "Just sit back and enjoy the revisit we made today."               "Funny thing is, we are not touring in our golf cart like before but it's small, and dark green with a white roof."

This is new this year. Last year you used to be able to camp for free, now the Forest Service is charging $5 a night.  This is primitive camping with no water, electricity,  or flush toilets.   

When we left in Oct and I had taken all the Fall pictures I really wanted to go back and stand/sit in the same spot and retake the picture. I would love to have a collage made of all four seasons. 
So here are the first two.  This is taken on the main road headed back out towards the main gate.

The tree on the L side hanging over the road and the curve sign (front right) is what I was using as my landmarks. I think they are pretty close, don't you?  The biggest difference to me other than the obvious the leaves... is the amount of sun coming through the trees. 
 

I of course was looking forward to seeing some animals. We had to go almost all the way to the lake to see the first of any.

"Hurry get down she's back!"

"Hey, what happened to their golf cart?  It is bigger now!"

"OK you can leave now!"

"Whew...I can't see her anymore so she must be gone."

"Ah phewy, she's still here."


 Here is another comparison photo. This one was taken down from our campsite on Southern Point. 

What a difference. I know there are no deer in the bottom one but wow what a difference leaves make!!

So we parked the car in our old camp host site. We checked to be sure we were the only ones on the loop and we were so we let Cooper and Effie run to their hearts content. You can see they were anxious to get going....

"Hurry up guys lets go."

I had been wanting to try the self timing feature on my camera. I had never tried it so I told Art I wanted to get a picture of us and the dogs. Art sat down on some steps and I placed the camera on a picnic table and set the timer and then ran....

Well Cooper did perfect. Effie is like " Mom what are you doing? You are supposed to be BEHIND the camera."

I had a cute idea :) I told Art to stand by the Mini Cooper and then I would do the picture of him pulling into our site on our first day of camp hosting as the comparison.

So what do you think. Do they look like the same size? At least the Cooper doesn't have blue head lights.

As I was looking at this picture it kept puzzling me. Then it finally dawned on me why I liked it. It just looks like the leaves make a carpet. There are no limbs or trees downs, just a perfect forest floor.

We were driving back from the beach area...brrr the wind off the water was cold. Anyway, we drove around the curve and you will never believe what we saw........

             Find out tomorrow. So from Hardin Ridge we send hugs and best wishes.

Being a Domestic Godess today :)

The sun was out today so that should have meant it was warm outside right? Wrong! It was cold! So I sat in my warm comfortable living room in my warm comfortable Lazy Boy and was a  Lazy Girl :))
Art and I bought Meredith (granddaughter) a little recliner chair for Christmas. She has a little plastic chair she sits in now.  She just loves little chairs. We bought her a little fold up lawn chair for when they come visit at the camper and she will play getting on and off on and off for hours.  So I got to thinking yesterday (uh oh says Art because this usually means I have something for him to do) she needed a little blanket of her very own, small tiny size.  We were in town yesterday doing some shopping and so I thought I would look at Fleece....Nope! Not at 9.97 yard.  They had fleece blankets on sale for 2.99 and 4.99. I didn't like the 2.99 ones so I bought her one with little Penguins all over it.  Plus, I have enough to make her a pillow to match. She is in to those too.  It was cheaper for me to buy a pillow at 2.50 than to buy a bag of micro fiber to stuff it with at 3.97. So I will cut open the end of the pillow pull out some stuffing and cut off the excess and sew it up and then cover it. Walah! One little adorable pillow.  I have started with the blanket first. I cut it to the size I wanted now I am putting a blanket stitch on it, then I will go around again, and put a single crochet in every blanket stitch and then go around again and do a shell stitch.  Here is the blanket stitch.....

The yarn I am edging it with is a lot more blue than is in the picture.

I will post another picture when I start the single crochet. Yesterday I wanted to make a bird seed ring. I saw the recipe on Anna Hanley's blog Anna's Little Bit of This and Little Bit of That. It turned out great, now the birds have to find it. They are still eating on the bird feeder so as soon as it runs out of seeds I am sure they will find this.....
 

I hung it up with the ribbon around the blanket that we bought for Meredith's chair.  Notice how it took on the shape of the bundt pan we used.

The recipe: 4 Cups bird seed.... 1/2 Cup warm water... 1 pkg Knox Gelatin... 3 Tbls corn syrup... 3/4 Cup flour.   Dissolve the gelatin in the warm water in big bowl. Then add your corn syrup and flour, whisk together. Add bird seed and mix well. Pour into a bundt pan that has been greased well with non stick spray. Press in well with hands. (it worked better if my hands were wet) Let dry over night. Tip out of pan onto newspaper and then hang with ribbon, long strands of left over material, rope what ever you have on hand.
Thanks Anna, I hope to do some of these for Christmas gifts for my bird loving friends.

Ok in the title was Taco Soup.  I found this recipe on RV-Dreams.com the journal of Howard and Linda Payne. They have been full timers since 2006 if my memory serves me right. When I heard the title I wasn't sure if I would like it, I didn't.  I LOVED it.
So here is how you make it.....

Brown 1 1/2 lbs ground beef. I use my Dutch Oven so it can simmer for a long period of time. You can do this in the crock pot also after you brown the meat.  

Chop one large onion and add to your browned meat. I usually cook the onions until they are starting to get translucent.  Oh it smells so good already.....:)

Now the fun starts! Get your can opener greased and ready to go......

Add one can of whole kernel corn (undrained) and one can of kidney beans (undrained)  I have also used black beans instead of kidney beans if I am out at the time.  

You need 2 10oz  cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies. You can find them at Walmart in their brand so they are cheaper.

The recipe calls for a 4 oz can of green chilies. I put them in if I have them, but tonight I did not. We like our food somewhat spicy so if you don't I would leave them out.
 

Next you add a can of Chili Beans (you want them in the sauce) and 1 1/2  cups water.

Now this one ingredient may throw you for a loop. But it is essential to the taste....

One package of Taco seasoning and yes, one package of Ranch Seasoning mix.

Now I cover it and let it simmer away. The longer the better. And it is better and better the next day and the next day.

This is how we eat it, some like it with corn chips only and some of us like it with sour cream.  This would be a great soup to take to reunions or pitch ins. I have made if in the crock pot, and it works great.  Let me know it you have ever had this soup or you make it.  Good luck!

Well I feel like a domestic godess today, sewing, cooking, and feeding the birds! I had better enjoy the feeling because tomorrow I may just be..............: lazy :)

                             So from Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.

The Tree Went Up... and the Tears Came Down :(((

We went and bought our tree yesterday. We like to buy it a day ahead, and then bring it in and water it and let it warm up and then the limbs open up. Our living room is arranged different than last year, so we had to buy a lot smaller tree this year. But you know I think it is my favorite tree we have ever had.  It is a Scotch Pine, and it makes the living room smell so good, I wish it lasted the whole month of December.  I made Art and Hannah laugh when I said this is the first tree we have ever had that "I" could put the star on. Usually Art has to lift one of the girls up, or he does it.  We went with all white lights this year again. Sometimes we do multi-colored sometimes we do all white.

When the girls were born I bought them an ornament and then every year there after we bought them an ornament so that when they were married and had their own tree they would have several ornaments to start off with. Every ornament on our tree has a special meaning. Either we got it on a vacation, or it was made by someone, or something happened that year and that ornament goes along with that theme. You know like when a grand daughter was born. :) I have one ornament that my mom and dad gave us when we were married and it hung on their first tree. They would have been married 66 yrs this past Oct 6th if they had both were still alive so that tells you how old it is. We have about 6 that have been on every tree we have ever had, so they are 31 yrs old. The reason we couldn't put the tree in the corner where it usually goes is because Hannah got  this last year for Christmas....

It is beautiful, but aquariums are a lot of work. I have had them all my life and really enjoy watching them. They are very relaxing.

Are you wondering if I was having a hard time with the aquarium taking up the tree space? Well not really. Today was sooo hard for many reasons. First, my Dad passed away last year on Dec 15th. It was very sudden as he had a stroke in his sleep. He did last for a few days after that and I was able to tell him good bye. But when a relative dies at Christmas the reminders of that time are much more obvious. There were so many Poinsettias at the funeral home and now when I see them that is what I think about. We had already put up my Dad's tree and his Christmas decorations, and they were mixed in with our decorations that Art brought out today. Just seeing his favorite ornaments and his decorations that I just couldn't bear to get rid of just brought on a flood of emotions. I knew this Christmas was going to be hard because even though we are very excited about our new life that is going to begin in April it is still hard to say good bye to the old one. And....then with Hannah getting married in June you think about that too. It seemed like about the time I had my emotions under control I would find something else or think about something and it would start all over. Not having any parents around any longer is such an odd/empty feeling. As I know many of you can relate to as well. I lost my Mom in Feb of 2007. That is also so hard to believe she has been gone this long. I went through all the ornaments and decided which ones to keep and which ones to give to the girls.  It just doesn't seem possible that it is Christmas time already this year. This year has gone by so fast.  I found my Mom's Precious Moments Nativity Scene and put that out too.

For some reason Christmas always brings out memories of pets that we have lost. We have little socks for our dogs and cats, and have even had little socks for a special pet duck, and a little rooster named Malcolm. Well....I found a box with all the stockings from those we have lost. I don't know why we keep them but for some reason we just can't bear to toss them. I am sure there are those out there that would think we are a little silly,  but we have always loved our animal kids and we always will. And yes, the ones we have now have little socks too....

From left to right.....Noah, Emma, Effie, Bindi, Cooper, Savannah, Skyler, and Sophie. Yes, that is 5 dogs and 2 cats.  Only Cooper and Effie go camping with us. The rest stay home with Hannah.

Think we are a little nuts....well at least we don't have socks for the turkeys, geese, ducks, rabbit or goat. :)) Can you tell I am feeling better I am back to making jokes.

                             So from Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.

Whew..Is ''It'' B I G... Our New Home on Wheels!

Ok when you look at a fifth wheel sitting side by side to your house it looks small. And out on the open road they don't look all that big either. In a building on an RV lot they look huge, but then they pull it out and it isn't all that big anymore. And there are always other RVs that are bigger. But when you go to loading them up, lining shelves, organizing for the next trip they are big big big.  I didn't think I was ever going to get all the drawers and shelves lined and restocked. Don't get me wrong it is fun and exciting especially this time because this one is going to be our ''home.''  We don't have of course everything out of the house that we want to put in it....as that won't be done until March, when we are getting ready to hit the road April 1st. Now is the time to purge and get rid of all those things you haven't used. I came across a few items but not as many as Art did. He was in charge of the basement area...you know that place where things end up that you don't know what to do with. Just like the garage here at home.  :)  We could have kept it all though and added more because this basement is so much bigger than the one in the Sundance.  Art could sleep in there, (if he ever gets into trouble) :))  I finally got the tornado rubble cleaned up so that I could take some pictures for the blog.
So sit back, relax, and get ready for the tour......

This is the bedroom. The comforter is ours not the one that came with the camper. We had bought it for the Sundance but didn't get to use it yet. It goes so well with the black in the headboard. Softer too.

This bedroom is smaller than in the Sundance due to the bathroom being separate. But we really wanted that so that we can get into the bedroom if someone is showering.

We just loved the mirrors in this fifth wheel. They are not just one big pane of glass but the wood slates break it up.  Behind that big door above the drawers is a TV. And those drawers wow! They are so big and deep. Will hold alot of clothes, towels, sheets, money.....ha ha. You are looking at where the money went. Then there are drawers below the window and cabinets above it.

Like I said we really wanted the bathroom to be a separate room. I didn't think that was that important to us until we lived in the other fifth wheel. Boy are your eyes opened when you live in them to what is important to you.

Well here is the throne. Oops I forgot to pick up an empty trash bag that was holding our wash clothes and towels.  I had just finished putting them up in the cabinet under the sink.

The sink of course and the shower on left. That door leads into the bedroom. I only have to walk about 3 feet at night to go to the bathroom. I just hope in those 3 little feet I don't find anything to stub my toe on. :)  Plus, I love the fact that there is a vent in the bathroom to draw out the steam.

No matter when or where I take her picture, Effie refuses to keep her eyes open, So funny! They love the new camper, they were so excited when we let them in it for the first time. They ran, all over it and had to smell all the new smells.  And of course they had to check out the bed, where they love to sleep. :)

The kitchen of course was my biggest challenge, and it will continue to be so as I go through the kitchen in the house and transfer those items I want to take with us. I am sure I will organize and reorganize as we start living in it. Putting those items used most often where I can get to them easier. I wanted to mention how I was hanging some things up on the walls without the use of screws or nails. I know people use Velcro but these weren't heavy enough to have to use that so I used this....

Lindsay gave me some to mount some things on the wall in the other fifth wheel. It is awesome because it sticks so well and when you want to take it down it comes off with no problem, doesn't leave any sticky residue, and does not make any marks on the walls.  I know college students are required to use it in their dorm rooms.  You can buy it at Walmart (where I bought it) back in the office supplies. Not expensive either. :)

                                Here is one of the items I hung on the wall with it.

Art and I used to do woodworking, he did mostly furniture, and I did mostly craft items. I loved to make puzzles, paper towel holders, etc. Then I found this woodworking project using a Scroll saw. It is used to make intrique cuts and allows you to move the blade in and out so you don't have any open cuts. I bought a book with patterns, and well you all know how I love deer, so when I saw this I had to make it. I ended up making one for my Dad for Christmas one year. I just couldn't bear to leave it and the Fun-Tak holds it nicely on the wall as it is not that heavy.  Whew those antlers and grass were fun to cut out I remember :)

There was two things I had to have in this fifth wheel. A back window, where my hummingbird could eat and I could watch them, and number 2,  just more windows. In the Sundance I felt closed in like I was in a box because there were no windows except a little one by Art's chair and one up in the bedroom. So we couldn't look out over our campsite at all. But then I wanted to be able to see the opposite direction too, so when we went into the Avalanche I was thrilled. There was another big window facing the opposite direction of our campsite, in other words the neighbor's campsite. :) 

And of course "this" didn't hurt a thing.... a big screen TV and the fireplace. But oh how cool is it that is goes back down into the wall and I have my window back. The fireplace is an added touch we were happy to get. Especially on those cold evenings.

Ok this may sound silly but I was so excited that I would have a spot for my bread box. We had absolutely no room in the Sundance and I love the ''hutch'' as I call it.  Be a great space to have a buffet when the kids come. 

In the Sundance we had a bench put in to replace the table and chairs so we would have more storage. We didn't need that here so we were happy to have the table and chairs back. This chair is ours out of the Sundance, we didn't care for the chairs that came in this unit.

Well they say the heart of the home is the kitchen, so here is the heart of our new home. I really really really like it. See the two little windows on either side of the stove? Aren't they cute? And counter space on both sides of the stove...how great is that!  The center island will be great for more storage,  more space for dishes, and we like that it is not the L shape as one of us was always getting trapped in the island in the Sundance.  Of course all of this is our opinion some people like the L shape.  I thought I would too until we were in the other fifth wheel for so long and we just didn't like it as well.  

                                                And last but not least......

We just had to have a calender in this one. Boy there were many days last summer when we completely forgot what day it was. People warned Art that this would happen when he retired. We needed a reminder....now I have to remember to cross off the days :))

I sure hope you enjoyed touring our new home with me. We are anxious to move into it and get to camp hosting. We are again returning to Hardin Ridge for the Spring time....I sure hope the deer didn't forget me.
                               So from Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.

Anonymous Comments...what do I DOOO???

I am working on a blog including pictures of the new trailer but I needed to get this out in the open first.  I am getting comments from people who remain anonymous who are saying pictures are not downloading on their computer, my text is running off the page, I don't have the right format and need to work on it etc etc etc........
First, I want to say that I do NOT have anonymous comments blocked on the blog set up, I know this because I just checked. So I do not know why they do not appear unless there is some way you as the writer are keeping them off.  I am sorry that we cannot see them so other bloggers can comment to your questions. I have not had anyone complain that pictures don't download, or that my text is running off the page and I have checked with people who use Internet Explorer and they are not having any problems.  I just wanted to get this out in the open as I had another anonymous comment today that said  he was having problems with the pictures downloading. I am sorry that you are having problems and I have no way to contact you because all I get is a website advertising something. If you are having real issues I hate it and I am sorry.  Does anyone else have this problem and if so how do I address it. Barbara, from Me and My Dog gave me some good advice but I keep getting them, and this person today was very nice had nothing negative to say, so I feel bad that I cannot reach out and let them know what to do.  Others are not so nice.  Again help.....other bloggers!!!
Thank you to any of you who can help me with this.

Update....we have come to understand that when anonymous comments have a web address below then they are SPAM. I guess some of them slipped through. I will just delete them from now on.  

The Avalanche is Home...Safe and Sound!!!!!

Good news......the fifth wheel is home.  We picked it up yesterday morning. I have to tell you the last time we were this nervous bringing something home on the roads was when we first brought each of the girls home. Art was so nervous with Lindsay he drove off from the hospital leaving some of my items sitting on the hospital curb. And with Hannah he went the wrong way. Well we didn't leave anything at the dealership or go the wrong way but we were still nervous. This fifth wheel is 37 ft long and the Sundance was 31 ft long so there is a ''little bit'' of a difference.  Here it is sitting in our drive way....looking so long and not one bit of damage!

Look! It was actually warm enough for us to have to door open as we worked inside. This is November in IN???  Yep and we love it!

We had a wonderful surprise when we were signing all the paperwork at the dealership. We bought it from Modern Trailer Sales in Anderson In. in case you didn't remember from the last blog. Art went to write them a check for $500 which was our deductible on the insurance. They said they were going to pay it for us because they felt like they were partly responsible for the accident. The lot was very very crowded and Art was trying to get over for a truck backing out of a garage. So that was a very pleasant surprise. :)) Ah...maybe our luck is going to turn around. No more accidents for us.

 It is fun but a lot of work reloading a trailer. We line all the drawers and shelves with that non slip shelf liner so things stay in place when bouncing down the road.  It is not hard but time consuming. And this fifth wheel has a lot more shelves and drawers than anything we have ever had before. I took a picture of  the back of the trailer and only the back because the rest of it looks like a tornado went through it.

You can see the barn in the back window :)  I really like the built in end tables. Something we don't have to pack up or tie down when traveling.  That is my Mom's lamp on the table on the L side of the sofa. It is a little cabin she loved it and I am thrilled to have it with me.

I will post more pictures of the inside as it gets cleaned up. I have most of the contents put away but there are still things sitting around. I have to do the bathroom yet and put some things up in the bedroom. Art washed all the windows today as they had so many water spots on them you couldn't see out. I just love how there are windows on both sides of the trailer. Now I can see more nature.

We have slowly begun to go through some items in the house. Ok, I have to be honest it is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I talked to my friend Dee on the phone this evening (remember her from Hardin Ridge) and was telling her this. She said it is funny how an item can sit on a shelf for 20 yrs and you don't give it a second thought but then you have to make a decision whether to keep it or not and then all the memories of that item start flooding back. Where you got it, if it was a gift or not, who gave it to you... Sheesh! I wasn't expecting this.  At least since Dan and Hannah are going to be here in our house after we leave we can leave some things here and not have to worry about them.  I remember when I started to read Barbara's blog from Me and My Dog how she made it look so easy to down size. I am sure it was "not" easy for her either. I was thinking today about some pictures hanging on the wall that I would miss and then I remembered her saying she took pictures of the ones she couldn't take with her but really liked and that way she would have them with her on the computer. That is such a neat idea, I am going to do that also...thanks Barbara for that idea. If any of you full timers have any other ideas or suggestions that you did when you started out I would sure love to hear them.  I do know this, we will be having one HUGE yard sale in March.  If you are going to be in the neighborhood you will need to stop by. Oh don't worry I will be reminding you. :))
I wanted to take this time to thank all of you again for the words of encouragement you sent during this rough time for us. It helped soooo much! And I hope you know how much we appreciated it. 
                            From Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.   

Insurance.....Are You Expecting a Rant????

 Nope not one rant here! I sure hope you guys are not getting tired of all this accident stuff.  We are but that is understandable right? I just had to write today about our insurance company, Grange. Remember watching Little House on The Prairie where Charles went to Chicago to the Grange convention for farmers? No, well you missed a great show :))))  I don't know whether this is related to that or not but I do believe it is an older insurance co. Just had to joke with you a little :)

And after both of our accidents I have nothing to say but good about them. When we totaled our truck in Aug we had people tell us it would take forever for us to get a settlement on it. Since we had not ever filed a claim before we had no idea how long it would take. I was pleasantly surprised. They did get 2 opinions on whether it could be fixed or not but once they decided it could not and they totaled it we received our check in 3 days. 

Art called our agent on Monday about the trailer accident.  They called this morning at 9 am and told us the check was being put in the mail today for the repairs on our trailer and the other gentleman's trailer that we hit.  I was so surprised. We were expecting at least a week by the time they sent out an adjuster to see the damage and then for Modern Trailer Sales to get them an estimate. Of course the trailers were right there on the lot so that helped speed it up I'm sure. But still I think that is pretty fast to get it taken care of. Art called Modern Trailer to tell them the news and they said as soon as we got the check in the mail and we bring it up to them we can do the trade and bring the Avalanche home. UH....does anyone want to volunteer to come drive it home for us?? :)))
Needless to say we will be a little nervous. So....we may have it here by Sat if they mailed it today and we get it by Friday....I know wishful thinking. Hey we have to have good thoughts regarding the Postal Service they are paying our pension :)

I know there are probably people out there who hate Grange and will say they didn't have anything but problems with them, and they refused to pay, etc.......
I am just telling you how they treated us and how things are looking up.  We took Dan and Hannah out to dinner at Cracker Barrel tonight. Dan put new brake pads on the front brakes of the Mini Cooper for me and so we wanted to thank him. Hannah just got to come along because she is still our responsibility...ha ha

Coming soon......pictures of Avalanche.  YA!

Much Better Today :)

Well I must say we feel much better today. We appreciate so much all the comments and words of encouragement sent by everyone.  Some good news too. I talked to our insurance agent about the increase on our insurance and he said ''no''. I was in a no fault, uninsured motorist accident, so they should not raise my insurance. He said they will write letters for us, and send proof of the accident  to this company. We went with GMAC so we could get the replacement insurance on the fifth wheel, which we cannot get on our auto plan. I guess if they won't take it off then we will find someone else. Sometimes when you threaten to leave they will come down. Just like the pushy sales lady we had remember her???
Have to get all this straightened out we have a wedding to plan :))  A friend of mine sent me an email today that reminded me of what we need to stay focused on and how we need to count our blessings everyday.  There was a horrific accident in Indianapolis the other night. It was a natural gas explosion and many people lost their entire house/home, and a  very young couple was killed. These people are homeless and will have to rebuild or move. When listening to that last night it sure put into perspective what happened to us.  Sometimes just putting your feeling into words makes you see things for how they really are.  And the advice and wisdom of others sure doesn't hurt either. Thanks and best wishes. 

Another Accident...I Know I Couldn't Believe it Either!

I haven't posted in several days due to the fact that I have been a little emotional. Believe it or not we had ''another'' accident.  Not on a road, and not with another vehicle. This one happened in the RV dealership lot where our new fifth wheel is.  Ok here goes the painful details.......
Modern Trailer Sales called us Friday night and wanted to confirm our appointment to pick up our new fifth wheel on Sat morning. Uh what? We had no idea we had an apt to pick up the new fifth wheel because we were waiting for the title to our old one. They said no problem as we could sign a power of attorney paper so they could get the title...in other words it transfers our rights to them.  So we said ok....but we didn't have anything out of the old one. Dan and Hannah were here and so they said they would help us unload, as we had babysit Meredith that day and we were a tad bit tired. It took us until almost midnight to get it all done and I couldn't sleep very well that night either due to the fact that Art had called the insurance company to get insurance on the new fifth wheel. Why would that bother me well... after they got all our information and driver's license numbers they informed Art that our premium was going to be $50 higher because of the accident I was in Aug 31st. WHAT! I realize I am so dumb when it comes to insurance and I learned a lot the hard way with this accident, how "full" coverage doesn't assure you "full" payment back if wrecked/totaled. But I wasn't expecting our insurance to go up since this accident was NOT my fault. Well it did....and according to others I have talked to the very same thing has happened to them. This is not right...we lost all that money on the truck, and now our insurance is higher due to the fact I am hit by a drunk driver and our truck is totaled by her!!!  I just don't understand things anymore, you try and do the right things, live the right way and it seems like you get penalized because of it. I know I am still upset over all this but you can't help but be a little angry. Has this happened to any of you and what if any can we do about it??   OK, now back to the accident. As I mentioned I didn't sleep very well, upset, excited, too tired...all rolled into one big emotion.  So we were up early Sat morning to be at the dealership by 11am. We rolled into the lot a whole four minutes late :)  Now this RV lot is very crowded due to the fact that they have a lot of RV's in there now to be winterized, stored for the winter, for sale, etc.
As we pulled in the lot there was this truck backing out of a garage so Art pulled over to give this truck room.  I then got out to find out where they wanted the Sundance parked. I noticed all this glass on the road and thought where did all that come from....Then I looked up.  Oh my gosh, all the windows on the driver's side of the fifth wheel were busted out, big black streak down the side and a piece was torn off (not sure what that was) I just couldn't believe my eyes, I walked over to the truck to tell Art he hit another fifth wheel, he looked liked the air had been knocked out of him. Now you may not believe this but neither one of us felt a thing. I guess that 350 diesel must pull with no problem even when pulling against another fifth wheel....:)))) See I haven't lost all sense of humor.  The service dept came over first as we were by their building. They were sooooo nice, it almost made it worse. I was digging down as deep as I could not to cry. Then a worker there came up to me and said, "you know this was your fault."  That did it......now I am crying, couldn't talk, wanted to run all the way home. I have no idea what this guy meant. Was he saying it was ''my'' fault? Or referring to us in general.  I was so shocked I didn't know what to say.
Then here comes our salesman,  and other people not sure who they were. I am trying everything not to cry, and they said you know we can't make the trade now until your trailer is fixed? I guess I knew that but to hear them say it just pushed me over the edge. Then they said you might as well go ahead and do your walk through in the Avalanche since you are here. I DID NOT WANT TO at all. And guess who did the walk through? Mr. Insensitive with the rude comment. I could do nothing but just glare at him the whole time, he would ask any questions? No, just hurry up and get us through this.  All I could do was swallow hard, let the tears fall once in a while and wish with every bone in my body we could LEAVE!!!!!!!  Our salesman was so sweet he came in and said I am so so sorry this happened to you, as he knew about the accident in Aug with the truck. He looked at the table in the kitchen area and said "look at that scratch", I don't like that at all so I am going to go inside right now and order you a new one. How nice....made me cry more.  We finally left after what seemed like an eternity. The drive home was a little quiet, Art was sick and I was now allowing myself the freedom to cry.  Someone told me after the accident in the truck that accidents come in 3's. I thought that was kind of humorous.... but now I am almost afraid to drive.  So we are waiting for the insurance company to get the estimate, the dealership to get the Sundance fixed and then we can do the trade.  And then we can sit back and watch our insurance go up even higher now that we have had ''another accident.''
On a happy note...our daughter Hannah became engaged Thursday. Dan is a very nice young man and he will make Hannah a wonderful husband. They are planning a June 22nd wedding. Here is the happy couple....I just love this picture.  And guess who took it?
Me!

Oh to be young and in love! A beautiful thing.

                               So from Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.

Catching Up on Days Past.....

I told you in yesterday's post that I had a bunch of pictures that I didn't get around to posting from Hardin Ridge and our road trips while there. While waiting for the election results I thought I would go through them and pick some out to share with you. I guess since this is a slower time of the year we can pass the time together reminiscing.....

I just love the picture of this puppy listening to his Ipod.  When we were in Nashville In, we were in a shop that had a variety of dog items. I saw this dachshund figure and took the picture for our doxie owners out there.  We had to get dessert after walking so much, so we went for Black Walnut ice cream. I used to get this at an ice cream shop all the time when I was a little girl...so it brought back memories.

I guess the ice cream didn't fill us up :)  Actually this came before the ice cream. We had lunch at a the Hob Knob Restaurant. You know the kind... a little hole in the wall that has mismatched chairs, crammed together, but the best food ever. We had this French Onion soup, then we split a Reuben sandwich. It was fabulous.

After we ate we went walking again.  Nashville is known for its artists and since I love to look at paintings since I have dabbled in it myself we went into the Gallery there.  The siding on the inside of the Gallery was so neat it was like barn siding. I loved the picture of the mare and colt because we used to have an Appaloosa horse like this. And of course the Covered Bridges in this area are so famous I wasn't surprised to find them in here.  No, the Halloween decorations weren't in the Gallery just thought I would add them in for color. :)

Mellencamp lives five miles outside of Bloomington, Indiana on the shores of Lake Monroe, but he also has vacation homes in Daufuskie Island, South Carolina and Tybee Island, Georgia. This was taken from Wikipedia.  We knew John Mellencamp lived on Lake Monroe and so we found his drive way. See the M on the light post.  Just outside his home was the most beautiful colors of Fall.

No matter if all the leaves are off the trees I still love the Fall pictures I took.

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This gorgeous picture was taken of Lake Monroe at a restaurant on 446 called the View.

Well I guess that will be all tonight. I'll continue to catch up on some days past as I reminence through some more pictures.
                              So from Thorntown we send hugs and best wishes.